Tesla eyes annual sales of 10,000 cars in Germany, Musk says

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Electric carmaker Tesla Motors aims to sell about 10,000 cars a year in Germany by 2015 as it builds out its network of charging stations, CEO Elon Musk told a German paper.

"I have confidence in the German consumer," Musk was quoted as saying in an interview with Welt am Sonntag.

"Our fast charging stations should cover around half of Germany by the end of March 2014 and the entire country by the end of 2014," he said, adding he expected there to be 25 Tesla dealerships in Germany by the end of next year.

Tesla's high-performance, all-electric Model S went on sale in Europe in August, and even overtook Volkswagen's Golf as the best-selling car in Norway in September.

Even vehicle sales of 10,000 would be only a small fraction of the German car market, which accounts for about 3 million units a year.

The Model S starts at 71,400 euros in Germany, according to the group's Web site.

Tesla is currently working on developing a third-generation electric car by 2017 that will cost between $30,000 and $35,000 (about 22,000 to 25,000 euros).